Sheet-feeder.



5 SHEETS-SHEET l.

Patented July NLAl DHGITCOUR. SHEET FEEDER. AFLICATION FILED SEPT. i3. 1913.

um@ GWW d W DMNA UMH @El M. A. DBOLTCUUE.

` SHEET FEEEER.

APPLlcATmN man SEPT. 13. 1913.

m1311191 my 20, 1915.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

S EW www 11| Il L mm 1 NND 11T mw@ M. A. DROITCOUR.

SHEET FEEDER.

APPucATloN msu sEPT.13. m3.

Patented July 2o, 1915.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

n 15d., 'g- 156 M. A. nnuncou.

SHEET FEEDER.

APPLICATION mn sPT.13, i913.

Patented July 20, A915.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

Aff

M. A. mmncoufx.

SHEET FEEDER.

'APPLlcATsoN FILED SEPT. 13. ma.

Patented July 20, 1915.

'5 SHvEETS-SHET 5.

1&46592-9.

MICHAEL A. DROITCOUR, OIE MAYWOOD, LLINOIVS.

SHEET-FEED'ER.

at Maywood7 in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement 1n Sheet-Feeders, of which the following is a`full, clear. concise, and exact description, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings, form# ing a p'art'of this specification.

My invention relates to sheet feeding machines and has a number ofobjects and advantages in View.

In accordance with one feature of my 1nvention the sheet feeder includes a suction shoe, and a reclprocable support for the shoe upon which it is pivotallly mounted. There 'is also preferably included a connection an- 1 chored at one end exteriorly ot the shoe and 'at the other end attached to the shoe and a spring for maintaining the connection taut. In accordance withanother feature of the invention an abutment is provided with which sheets lifted by the suction shoe are brought into striking' engagement to dislodge the sheets that are not to be lifted.

In accordance with another feature of the `invention l provide' means for elevating sheet portions of sheets that are to be fed from a pile of sheets, a finger for resting upon the pile of sneets between the lifted sheet and the reniaining sheets, and mechanism for moving such finger inwardly o\ er saidv pile of sheets and downwardly into contact therewith after the lifting operation. This finger is'also preferably lifted and withdrawn outwardly preparatory to an? other sheet lifting operation. n l

i ln accordance with another feature of the invention l employ a suction wheel whose periphery is perforated .to enable air to be drawn inwardly through the wheel, the periphery being flattened where perforated so that the sheets may have. liat engagement with thewheel or the outsetting curvature is otherwlse removed where the wheel 'is perthough it is preferred to flat-ten the forated periphery to enable thesheets to have more extended engagement with the wheel.

n accordance with another feature of the invention the periphery has recesses surrounding the perfor-ations therein for holding the heavier sheets and within which recesses portions of lighter sheets may be ydrawn to seal the perforations thereby to enablethe suction wheel to operate upon lighter sheets.

Specification of Letters latent. Patented .truly 2t)a 1915 Application filed September 13'7 1913. Serial No. 789,591.

In accordance with another feature of the invention a substantially noirrotating suction shoe is located within the suction wheel, this shoe beingl movable radially of the wheel to maintain engagement with the inner portion of the` wheel rim, a spring heilig preferably employed for maintaining the shoe and wheel in engagement.

n accordance with another feature of the invention l provide a mechanical sheet li tlcr for lifting the bottoni sheets to prepare them for the feeding operation when the pilt` of sheets has been sufficiently reduced to permit of the operation of this mechanical sheet lifter.

illy invention has a number of other objects and advantages in yicw which are prel erably attained by the embodiment of the invention herein disclosed but to which eiiibodiment the various features arc not to be limited.

The. invention will. bc fully set forth, by reference to the accompanying` draw'ings and in the appended claims.4

ln 'the drawings Figure l is a side view partially in section illustrating the machine of the invention; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the equipment illustrated in Fig. l, some'parts being omitted for the sake of cica ss; Fig. is a sectional elevation` on line l il of Fig. 1; Fig. al. is a sectional elevation on line -i -t of Fig. 2; Figli 5 is a sectional elevation on line 5 5 of Fig. 2; Fig. is a view in transverse section illustrating a side guide; Fig. Tis ya sectional yview on line T i of Fig. L); Fig. S is a sectional view on line 2i h of Fig. S); Fig. l) is a view partially in elevation and partially in section on line E) l) of llig. T of a portion of the structure illustrated in Fig.

7, the part which is in section being taken on line i) 9 of Fig. 7; Fig. l0 is a view on ay larger Yscale of a part of the structure as it appears in Fig. l; Fig. ll is a plan view of structural portions illustrated in Fig. l() on line 1l ll; Fig. l). isa view on a larger scale of a part of the structure as it appears in Fig. 2; Fig. .i3 is a view on line 13 13 of Fig. l2; Fig.' ll. is a detail in section of a part of the structure illustrated in Fig. 13 g Fig. l5 is a sectional view on line l5 15 of Fig. .li-l; and Fig. .16 is a. view on line 1G 1G of Fig. L.

Like parts are indicated by similar characters of reference throughout the different figures.

The sheet feeding machine of my invention is adapted to feed sheets for a variety of purposes such, for example, as to printing i'aesses, perforating machines and folding machines, and the invention is not therefore io he limited to any use to which it may be put. In the embodiment of the invention herein shown the sheets are fed by means of my machine to a perforating machine indicated at 1 and, as such perforating machine forms no part of my invention, the same will not be described.

The sheets, such as'sheets of paper, `are piled at 2 upon a supporting board or platform 3 resting at its side margins upon the angle irons 4 carried upon symmetrically positioned stretches of vertically disposed endless sprocket chains 5 which pass over sprocket'wheels 6 at the upper limits of their travel and over sprocket wheels 7 at the.

lower limits of their travel, the latter sprocket wheels being driven'by an intermittently driven shaft 3 through the intermediation of worm shafts 9 and worin wheels 10. The support 3. is to be elevated froih time to time to compensate forthe reduction in the thickness 'of the pile as the sheets are fed from the pile. -1n the instruf mentalities which enter into the step by step upward adjustment of thepaper support 3 there is included a cam support 11 which is rotated at a uniform speed, this cani support 11 carrying a cam roller 12 concentric with the axisof rotation of the cam support 11 and working back and forth within the elongated slot 13.of a lever 14 fulcruined at 15. A link lt-connects an intermediate portion of the lever 14 (Figs. 1, 2, 1() and ll) with one end of the bell crank 17 .upon

fwhose other end a pawl carrier 13 is pivotally umounted, a spring 19 pressing pawl carrier upwardly. lhc pawl 2U isl pivot` ally mounted upon the pawl carrier, the

tail of the pawl 2U being upwardly pressed by a spring 21,whe'reby the pawl is pressed downwardly, thel extent to which the pawl 2() may be downwardly pressed by the spring 21 being limited by engagement ofthe tail with the shaft 23 upon which the pawl support 13 is pivotally mounted. The spring 19 is, when uiiopposed, sufficientlyA strong not only to hold the-pawl support 18 in that position in `which the pawl 20 will be norinally out of engagement with a ratchet wheel 24, but is also sufficiently strong to'` support a normally idle depressor 25 normally free to oscillate aboutf it'spivotal mounting 26.' This depi'essor carries a foot '27 near its outer end, this foot being noimally out of the alinement with a depressing finger 2S constituting one branch of a bell crank wlioseeompanion branch is articA ulated to a link 29 having its upper end connected with the outer end lof alevel' 3() fixed with respect to a shaft 31 Y(see also Figs. 3 and i). Another level' 32 is also fixed with/respect to the shaft 31, this lever 32 being connected by a link 33 with a lever 34 (see particularly Fig. 3)' that is fixedl companion miter gear 37 upon Which-a finger` 38 isA fixedly secured. vThe lower and free end of this finger rests upon the paper at 2,- 'being maintained in engagement with the )aper by means of a spring 39 secured to t e upper end of a lever 40 fixed upon the shaft 35. As the pile of paper is reduced the spring '39 turns the rod 35 to the extentvpermitted by the finger 38. cam .41 upon constantly driven shaft 42 intermittently engages a cam roller 43 upon the upper end of a cam element 44fixed upon the shaft35 whereby the finger 38 is raised each time a sheet is to be fed from the pile, the cam 41 thereafter operating to permit the spring l39 to .reapply the finger 38 to th paper to hold the sheet iininediatelybelow' the sheet being fedso as tovmaintain it upon its pile until the time for 'feeding it ha:v ar

rived. When the pile has been so farhre# duced in height to require its bodily eleva-4 tion to enable the feeding yof they sheets therefrom properly to continue, the spring 39 is permitted by the'finger 38 so far to turn the shaft 35 that this shaft willfthrough` i lower curved surface -of the depressor 25' 'will engage and depress the pawl carrier 18 rso as tobring the pawl 20'into engagement with the ratchet 24 to turn the same say, the spacel of five teeth. As the ratchetwheel 24 is fined upon the shaft 8 the worms 9 upon the ends of the shaft 8 will turn the worm wheelslO in a direction that will elevate the platform 3 to restore theupper' surface ofthe pileof paper to its initial level. elevated the finger 3S operates, in theI manr ynei' now obvious, to lpreventthe finger 28 from coming into alinement with the foot 27, lsuch alinement heilig avoided until the pile has again been reduced to that point where it should again be elevated. The fin- When tlieplatform 3 has thus been'- ger 28 is thus` kept in constantosci-llation through the direct agency of the cam .ele-v ments 41 and 43, Ithe extent of this oscillation being determined by the finge'i-` 38 where,-

by such oscillation is not effective for the purpose of raising the pile o'fpaper until the range of oscillation hasbeen so increased as to brin-g the elements 27 and 28 into alinement. parts which are normally ineffective but I thus employ constantly.moving which are readily made eifective'when' the time arrives for raising the pile, the entire construction being such that a delicate and sensitive control of the elevation of the' ipaper is secured.` In practice I have been LMA ,4, AA..

able to secure relevation vof the pile of paper each tune it has been decreasedl onesixty-fourth of an inch in height. When all of the paper has been fed :from the platiiorm 3 further elevation of the platform is prevented-owing 'to the fact that. the linger 38 can no lonfrr descend suthciently' far with respectto the platform 3 whereby the finger 28 cannot thereafter engage the foot Q'ifo'r the purpose ot' elevating the platform 3. The attendants vill thereupon remove the support or platform 3 from which the pile of paper has been fed and will place a new loaded support 3 upon another pair of angle irons v The mechanism :for vfeeding the sheets from the pile includes a suction producer fl to the intake side of which a pipe 46 extends. rlhis pipe is provided with bifurcations d?, 48 alternately through which air is drawn to the main branch 46 according to the position of the twofivay valve 4:9. lhe element li. has its periphery so shaped as to constitute a cani that works in coperation with a cano roller 50 mounted upona. lever 51 which is provided with a forked end which straddles the shaft 42 upon which the element 1l is mounted. nested at its upper end with an arm fixed upon a shaft and to which shaft another erin 5l is riffidly secured', the arm being connected by a link with a valve lerer beloiiging to the valve 49. The cani l'so operates upon the cani roller 50 as first to establish a passage for inliowing air through the pipe branch 47 and the flexible continuations 561 thereoilZ and thereafter cut oil" the flowv of incoming air at. 561 and tablish a passage for intlowing air through the flexible pipeportion 4S.

Referringnow .more particularly to Figs. L 13a le, ,and l5, the flexible extensions extend to suction shoes 57, these shoes having each a rigid shank 58 .pivotally mounted at 59 at a center which is slightly to the left (as seen in Figs. 13 and lll) of the center of the lower arc of the shoe. The shaft is provided with' a cam 60 having a cam groove receiving a cani pin (31' upon the upper end of an arm (S2 rigidly secured upon a shaft 63. Ar miter gear (34 is splined upon shaft 63 and is in mesh with a miter gear 65 rigidly mounted upon a shaft GG. Miter gears 6T are splined upon the shaft 6G and are in mesh 1with niiter gear (38. An arm 69 is rigid with respect to each gear (38. By means of the cam GO and intervening parts, the gear-'s G8 are oscillated to oscillate the arms (59. The arms 69 engage groo'ved posts 70 projecting upwardly'frorn slides 71 mounted to reciprocate upon guide rods 72.v

Strips or connections 73 are each stationariljf anchoredv at 'Zlat one end and are athed at the other end to the corresponding 57 at Thuswhen the slidesl are sheet lifted l provide an abutment Tl at The levez-51 is con- :a counter-clockedse direction i coni moved rearwardly, or to the right as viewed in l2 and l5,the shoes 5i' are rocked in clockwise direction against the force of spring 76 which serves to restore the shoes to the positions illustrated when the arms of) are returned to the positions illustrated, the spring 'iii servingto maintain the strips l taut. lllhen the shoes 57 have heen rotated in a clockwise direction the mouths 'I7 hereof are presented to the top sheehat which time air is being drawn through the shoes vvlhereloy the top sheet is drawn into contact With the shoes so that when the shoes are returned to the positions illustrated in lliis l2 and 13 the upper sheet of paper is li d at its rear margin. ln order to have but one right hand end of each shoe which br ,l

the periphery of the shoe in position to ,ie

engaged by the lifted sheetv and Athat oper-- ates to dislodge any lower sheet or sheets l with whichmay happen to be lit1 uppermost sheet, the abutine downwardly below the sheet eng of the .shoe for this purpose. The exto t to which the abutn'ient Til projects below the shoe is determined by an adjustnir screw 79 operating against the shoe to oli'set the resilience ot' the abutment,-u'hich preterablv made of strip spring metal, the resilience of the spring To' operating to l n the element toward the shoe. Th: ah' nient '1S performs its 'function before the n turn movement of i v.: correspondin Y Non7 that the sheet has been litA end it is pulled oil its pile hy t at its toru'fird. end hy niechauisui after to he described and in o; .er vent other sheets troni .boing pulled pile with the top sheet l associate o ith aon shoe 5i' a depressing linger Fl n'iouii ed move diagonallj/7 of the paper, .'vhose to ward end is adapted to upon the .sheet ol paper irmuediateivv below that being i from the pile and which is piiotcd near its .rear end upon the lu'ackct projecting from a support 82 adapted to slide bach and Iforth upon the rods H23 projecting rearwardly from a stationary support Sli A spring 8:3 is associated with each finger Si) and is anchiired at one end to the associatey arm 69 and at the other end to a stud SG. The stud SG is carried hv an arm 8l' iixed upon ay shaft So which is iournaled in a bracket 89 carried upon the normally sta tionaryv support Si.

An arm 9G is ii n with respect to the arin 87 and lca a stud 91. 'The finger S0 provided with up wardly projecting tail pieces 5h interposed bet-Ween and inlengag'eiuent with the tree end pf a coil spring and the studl, the coil spring` 93 being; anchored upon tile support 8.4. Vihen the al'inslf) arc being 'moved in a counter-clockwise direction these arms i3@ pull upon the springs 85 andthe studs 86 to move the studs 91 against the tail pieces 02 and against the force of the springs 93 to move the supports 82 inwardly upon the into'engagement with the sheet below the` lifted sheet, the springs 85 operating yieldingly to maintain such engagement. Vhen the arms 69 move 1n a clockwise direction the tension upon the springs 85 is relieved' l sufficiently to permit the springs 93 to bring the fingers 80 to a horizontal position 1n which they are relieved from engagement with the pile ofA paper, the springs 93 then operating to remove the sliding supports 82 rearwardly to a position determined by the stops 04:, this elevation land withdrawal of the fingers 80 diagonally of the paper being foithe purpose of enabling the shoes 57 to4 pick 'up thenext and now the topmost sheet of the pile. It will be observed that the in; ward movement of the fingers 80 is completed before their downward movement' is finished so that the fingers do not push the paper forwardly. Preferably the. forward and downturned ends of the fingers 80 constantly overlie the pile of paper irrespective of the positions thatlsuch fingers may oc- Aferent 'widths of sheets.

cupy. It should be said in passing that the center of thelower periphery of eachshoe 57 is movedto the right of the associate pivot for the purpose of maintaining the corresponding belt 73 sufficiently clear of the paper to permit of other operations later to be described. The supports 84 are, as hitherto stated, normally stationary but are adjustable toward and from each other to adapt the mechanism they support to dif- To this end the shafts 00 are' in splined connectioniv with the gears 0,7, the shaft 6() being'in free sliding unsplined connection with thesupports 84. The shaft 00 is, inl its supporting relation to the supports 84, supplemente by a slide guide 95, The supports 84 arev adjusted by hand upon the rods (ifi, 95, the adjustment of these supports being secured by set screws 06. Nowthat the sheet has been lifted at its rear margin it is to be drawn off the pile at its forward margln, a blast of air passing through the centrally disposed pipe 07 facing the front of the pile of sheets serving there to fiuft' the sheets to bring the top sheet within range of suction wheels 98 whose interiors are in communication with the suctionv pipe 48 common thereto and through which wheels 98 and suction plpe "lheperipheries of the suction wheels are Inay be the initial power driven elements to.l

operate the entire machine) and a shaft 100 upon which the suction wheels are mounted.

recessed or inset at regular intervals as indicated at 101, the inner portions oft-he suction. wheel peripheries indicated at 101 being provided with apertures 102. The lighter sheets of paper are adapted to be drawn in, where they cover the recesses 101, so as to cover the openings 102. The heavier sheets `of paper however will not thus be drawn in to cover the openings 102. Thus the suction area afforded at 102 for the lighter sheets of paper is less than the suction area afforded by the entire recesses 101 for the heavier sheets of paper whereby the attraction for the lighter and heavier sheets ea.n

of paper is automatically adjusted. The

peripheries of the suction wheels 98 are fiattened or otherwise relieved of outsetting curvature upon the portions thereof surrounding the recesses 'tfiAOLso as to have more extended engageiiient. with the paper that is to be fed,A considering 'paper that would be t'oo heavy to snugly engage the l outwardly curved portion, instea of opposing curved surfaces to the aper'which 4are defective particularly W en heavierpaper is to be fed. The suction wheels are provided with the suction shoes 103 which are mechanically and pneumatically coupled by a pipe 104 into which the pipe 48 extends. These suction shoes looselysurround the shaft so as to ,be movable radiallypof the wheels thereby vto maintain contact with the inner surfaces of the wheel rims and are pressed downwardly by a spring 104:1 andthe shoes are prevented from oscillating by the holding structure illustrated at 105. The spring 1041 operates yieldingly to maintain the lower and peripheral surfaces of the suction shoes in engagement with the vcylindrical interiors Vof the suction wheels, the spaces 10G within the suction shoes -directly overlying the places where the paper is to be engaged for the lpurpose of being withdrawn 'from its` pile. The suction shoes are extended laterally thereof fore and aft so to have proper engagement with the interiors of the suction wheels, but in order to prevent the sucltion from being maintained beyond the de sired movement of the ksuction wheels the suction shoes are provided with recesses 107 in communication with the external air. As a the suction wheels rotate in'their'4 uniform clockwise .direction the vreeesses101'and the openings 102 are successively brought into communication with the portions 106l of the suction shoes so that the uppermost sheet of paper is drawn from the pile and is passed over the driven conveyor rollers 108 which' convey the paper to the machine l that'is to operate thereupon.

ln orderv properly to direct air from the pipe T to the pile where it is to be picked up b v the suction wheel, the pipe would better have its outlet end in line with the upper 'portions oi the peripheries of the rollers S to which cnil the pipe is inturned as indicated in Fig. T and is received within a groove loll in the roller to which such pipe is adjacent. By this` disposition of the pipe lll the blast ol' air therethrough is substantiallv parallel with the sheets thereby to get the best spreading action. 'The bracket 110 upon which initer gear 3T is mounted car-` ries a support 111` for spring lingers 112 which press downwardly uponthe pile with slight pressure. sulliciently to prevent the `air blast through the pipe 0T from at any time shifting the general position ofthe top sheets or' paper. The part of the device 113I that engages the pileI ot paper is blunt so as not to penetrate the paper. lVhile the spring lingers 112 are in constant engagement with the paper the linger 38- whichpresses more heavily upon the paper should be remove-d `l'roui engagement therewith when the top sheet is being fed forwardly, a.

result which is effected by the proper inter? related cam elements l1 and 43. The operations are so governed that the linger 38 is restored to engagement with the paper just betere the lingers S0 break their engagement with the paper while 'the top sheet is still being pulled jfrom the pile by the suction wheels so that no more than one sheet will 'be Yted. The pawl 20 is moved forward only when the linger l3h is in engagement with the paper, and ot' course is inell'eetive until 'the linger 58 has been brought into alineinent with thefoot 2T in the manner previously described.

ln order to enableme to i'eed all the sheets from the pile of paper a spring or springs 113 are mounted upon the board 3 at the forward end thereof, this spring being normally depressed to the level of the board by the Weight of the pile but when the pile is suiliciently reduced to number but a few sheets the lower sheets of paper are well elevated by the forward end ,of the spring properly to bring such sheets of paper, owing to the influence ot Athe air blast issuing from the pipe'll?, Within operating range of lthe wheels,` a result which is obtained Without the necessity of a special elevation of the-board 3. rl`he normal level of the upper sheet of paper may be determined by shifting. the toot 27 back and forth as by meansof an adjustingdevice 114A. i

A pair ci racks 115 are provided for cooperatioppwith the hand operating' gearing' vided upon a common shaft 119 purpose of'moving the carriers 66 and 95` longitudinally of the machine to adapt the supports 8l andthe parts carried thereby to differing lengths of paper, the elements and 95 being connected with carriages 118 upon which-the hand operated gearing 116 is mounted, the gear `wheel 11G being prowh ich passes through the quill 'shaft 95. i

One longitudinal edge portion of each singly fed sheet of paper is passed between the top and bottom portions of a. guide`120 whose vertical wall 121 defines the aline,- inent of the paper with respect to the ma chine 1 which is to operate thereupon, the paper that is being directed through this guide being indicated at 122, Figs. ci and GQ The entire guide structure 120, 121 is above the rollers 108 whereby such guide' may readily be adjusted longitudinally of the rollers 108 and laterally of the machine,

provision for such adjustment being illustrated in Figs. 2 and 4 where l Ihave illus trated the 'guide 121v as depending from sleeves 123 movable transversely of the machine upon frame rods 121, these frame rods constituting a part of the frame in which the rollers 108 are journaled. Referring particularly to Fig. 2, the sleeves 123 are connected by means'of frame pieces 125 with an additional sleeve 126 movable transverselv of themachine .upon one of the rods 124. rlhe rollers 108 are driven in counter clockwise directions so as to convey the sheets to the machine 1 that is to operate thereupon and in order to maintain the sheets in proper engagement with the rollers` `will spread andincrease 'the area which is influenced thereby as compared with the areas of the apertures through which the air= issues. The wind box127 is adjustably mounted upon the insetting 'brackets 128 lill whereby the wind box may be adjusted transversely of the machine.

A brush 129 is disposed upon the sident the machine opposite that upon ,which the guide 121 is disposed, a

site to that which is received hy said guide and .another :part of the brushV bearing upon the roller disposed beneath the brush whereby the brush operates as a guide complexncntal to the guide 121 to maintain the proper direction of'travel of the sheet. This art of the brush' bearingl upon that edge o thepaper oppoisaillirush is, adjustable longitudinally of the the machine 1.

inclined with respect to the guide portion justment ing secured by having the 'stem ofthe brush mounted upon the bracket 130.

i The brush is adjustable transversely of themachine byl having the bracket 130 slidably mountedupon the contiguous rod 124. The j brush is also of service Whether orV not it acts asa guide for thel paper in that the sheet 'fed to thev machine 1 willnot buckle between themachine 1 and the brush. .y

The rollers 108 are all positively driven by a constantly operating sprocket chain 131, these rollersbeing turned in a counterclockwisedirection to feed the paper toward The rollers are forwardly 121 at their endsthat are remote from said guide whereby the edge yof thepapcr beingl fed is maintainedin engagement with the'` rverticalportion 121 ofthe guide.l

Before the paper reaches the brush 129 it, is subject to frictional contact upon one sidethereofat the guide 120. Where narrower sheets are .being fed this preponderating friction would be likely to throw the papel' out of alinement by being retarded at the? guide 120. y I compensate, particularly where narrow sheets-are being fed, for the friction at 120'by supplying a friction device to lie upon and contact with the paper at the side thereof opposite the'guide 120. `This fric-- tion device ,may preferably be in the form of a. strip 132 depending from one of the frame rods 124 and extending forwardly. longitudinally of the machine. By theequipment described the paper being fed is properly registered so as to make even -contact with the side .guide portion 121 and drop guide'133.'

The pump 45 is preferably common to the t1on.

5. A sheet feeder including an oscillating wind box 127, the suction pipes 48 and 56 and the flutter 97, a single valve 134 throwing the pump l5 into and out ofservice.

Certain vfeatures of my, invention not f herem claimedare claimed 1n my co-pendmg application SerialNo. 831,363, filed .April 13, 1911,'Which cop-pending application is' a divisionof'this application.

lVhile I have'hereinA shown and particuerly ldescribed the preferred embodiment of my invention I do not wish toibe limited to the precisedetals'of construction shown as changes mayicadily be made vwithout departing-from thespiritof my invention, but

Havingp'thusQdescribed my invention .I

claim as newl and desire to secure by Letters Patent the following g+- 1. A sheet feeder `including a suction shoe; a reciprocable. vsupport for the shoe upon.

for lifting rear portions of the sheets; a support for positioning the rear portions of the sheets adjacent said shoe; a reciprocable support for the shoe upon which it is pivf otally. mounted; a connection anchored at one end exteriorly of the shoe and at the other end attached to the shoe; mechanism for reciprocating said support to effect oscillation of the shoe; and a spring-for maintaining the aforesaid connection taut.

' 3. A-.sheet feeder including means for elevating portions of sheets that are to be fed from a pile of sheets; a finger in close prorimity to the aforesaid means for resting upon the pile of sheets between the lifted sheet and the remaining sheets; and mechanism for moving said linger inwardly over the pile of sheets and downwardly after its inward movement has vvbeen finished to contact with the pile of sheetslljelowl the lifted, sheet.

, 4. A sheet feeder including means for elevating portions of sheets that are to be fed from a pile of sheets; a 'linger for resting upon a pile of sheets between the lifted sheet and the remaining sheets, said finger being rin close proximity to the aforesaidA means; and mechanism for movingsaid lift the finger 'andwithdraw it outwardly preparatory to another sheetI lifting operashoe and the outerl end of which `vnormally projects downwardly below the sheet engag` finger inwardly over the pile of sheets andV 2. Al sheet feeder including a suction shoe ing lfaceof the shoey and ywith which abut-.gv ,ment sheets lifted by .the `shoe are brought finto'engagem'ent to dislodge thevsheets that are not to'be lifted.. I

In'wit'ness whereof,l I hereunto subscribe my name this eleventh day of-.September,

MICHAEL annorrooun. y 

